Valentine’s Day, with its focus on roses, romance and relationships, can be fun for those who are happily coupled. Who doesn’t love a fun excuse to go out to dinner, make a fancy feast at home, or exchange candy treats? (Dark chocolate nonpareils for me, please.) Or even to just dispense with the hoopla and enjoy a Netflix binge with takeout together?

But if you are unhappily single, this Hallmark holiday can sting and may even leave you dwelling on a past relationship and why it may have failed.

While this is a crappy way to spend a day when it seems everyone else has something to celebrate, there is value in exploring why a partnership soured. And not just your romantic ones. In business, taking time to figure out why a client left can offer valuable lessons.

Here are three reasons why clients leave—and what we can all learn from them.

1. Failure to Launch

When a potential client engages with your business for the first time, your company delivers a promise of what it could be like to work with you—how your product or service will make their life or business easier, richer, or healthier.

Your website, emails, ads, social media posts and sales team pledge to earn the prospect’s business and ultimately their long-term loyalty by driving an outstanding deliverable and experience. The prospect decides to take the plunge and spend money with you. Everyone feels good, there are Thank you for your business and Welcome messages shared.

But something happens when the prospect becomes a customer. It may not be a big disaster with the first order, it can be something subtler that starts to erode the good feeling garnered during the sales process. Someone on your service team irritates the client during an interaction, there are inconsistencies as business transitions from sales to operations, or small mistakes start to multiply.

The honeymoon stage in a client engagement should be a time when everyone feels good:

Trust is built

The decision to buy is validated

A foundation for a lasting relationship is laid.

When that does not happen, it can be tempting for your client to cut early losses and move on. Make sure you are doing all you can to ensure a successful onboarding experience.

2. Misunderstood Expectations

In any relationship, both parties have expectations of what they will give and what they will get. The client pays your business with certain goals tied not only to the specific deliverables—a quality product or professional service—but also to the outcomes those things will help them achieve.

It’s important to understand the real reason your customer buys from you. In some cases, it will be straightforward... "I need these parts manufactured on time and on budget and on spec. Meet those expectations consistently and you are successful." Other times, and especially when you are hired for your expertise or you're delivering a professional service, it’s important to clarify what your client is truly seeking.

3. Your Client’s Circumstances Change

The “It’s not you, it’s me” breakup line has become a cliché for good reason. Circumstances and people change and sometimes a partner is not able or willing to adapt. Sure, sometimes it just feels like a nice way to let someone down, but there is almost always some truth to the line.

The situation applies to business breakups, too. Your client’s personal life, career or goals may lead to their not needing your company anymore. When this happens, some clients will silently start disengaging while others will be more transparent.

Looking at your current clients, think about whether you have you done all you can to:

Cross-sell your products and services so clients are not buying just one thing from you.

Build relationships with more than one person on the client side—family and friends discounts/referrals, introductions into other departments within a client company, etc.

Anticipate and plan for potential changes on the client side to adapt with them if possible. How will they need you if their company moves, grows, or contracts? Can they still use your service if they move out of your area? Thinking through these inevitable situations may help you avoid losing a client.

Getting new clients is hard and breakups stink. Keeping these three potential hazards in mind can position you to keep more customers than you lose.

And they may even help you keep that romantic relationship alive, too. Happy Valentine’s Day!

About the Author

Maureen Condon, PMG Principal

Before Maureen Condon became one of the Principals of PMG in 2006, she was a writer and a business owner – which explains why she specializes in content marketing and strategy. Covering topics that will help businesses get real, measured results from marketing – success you can see in numbers – Maureen likes to back companies in their efforts to create a strategy, a compelling message, and programs that connect with prospects, clients and influencers in ways that drive sales. And she does so, with panache!